Let’s Get Technical: An Interview with Justice Colleen Melody

What makes the newest Washington Supreme Court justice tick

BY COLIN RIGLEY

Colleen Melody is a total nerd who keeps baseball scores by hand during games. The word “nerd” isn’t a dig; in fact, it’s the word she uses. As the newest member of the Washington Supreme Court, this numerical sports nerdiness speaks to the type of person Melody is—and the type of judge she will likely become.

When I first spoke with now-Justice Melody—after her appointment was announced by newly elected Gov. Bob Ferguson, but before her swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 21—I wanted to find out why she thinks Ferguson selected her for the vacant seat—Melody said that was a question better left to the governor. But if you ask her about the legal system in Washington, where it gets hung up, how it can improve, and what’s needed to improve it, she lights up. In short, if you want to talk to Melody, it helps to focus on the technical, focus on the law, and don’t focus on her.

“I work hard on the actual structure of legal arguments,” she explained. “I love to research and to write—I do it a lot.”

At the time, Melody was in the thick of it. Hers was the newest face broadcasted out to the Washington public and the state’s community of legal professionals, and she was still absorbing the ins and outs of her new role.

“There’s a steep learning curve that I am encountering right now,” she said. Topping the list of things to learn are the general business of the court, rules of the road when working for a state institution, and other administrative realities that you don’t get to experience until you’ve gone through it. “If I have even 30 percent of it learned in the first year I might count that as progress,” she joked.

So what drives her?

“The thing that I am motivated by is this desire to see Washington courts just be so good, so excellent, and independent from anything going on in the federal court system.”

Melody has taken over the seat of Justice Mary Yu, who retired at the end of 2025. In a press release¹1 “Governor Ferguson appoints Spokane native Colleen Melody to Washington Supreme Court,” Nov. 24, 2025, https://governor.wa.gov/news/2025/governor-ferguson-appoints-spokane-native-colleen-melody-washington-supreme-court. announcing Melody as the newly selected justice, Ferguson said:

Colleen Melody has devoted her career to standing up for those who often don’t have a voice in our justice system. As Attorney General, I worked extremely closely with Colleen, where I had a front row seat to her immense legal skills, prodigious work rate, and passion for justice. Her public service has made our state and nation a more equitable place. She will make an excellent justice.

From the time since it was created in 2015 and up until her appointment to the court, Melody led the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) Wing Luke Civil Rights Division. According to Ferguson, she has “helped make Washington state a national leader in defending civil rights. Over the past decade, she has led some of the state’s highest-profile and most impactful cases, including blocking President Donald Trump’s first Muslim travel ban.”

Prior to the AGO, Melody served four years with the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, earning the U.S. Attorney General’s Award for Outstanding New Employee and the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights’ Special Commendation for Outstanding Service. She has worked on litigation involving the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program and challenged the White House’s courthouse arrests of non-citizens.

Melody has also received awards including the Legal Foundation of Washington’s Charles A. Goldmark Distinguished Service Award, the American Immigration Lawyers Association Jack Wasserman Memorial Award, and the AGO’s Steward of Justice Award.

Q: How has the learning curve been thus far as you now prepare to take the bench?

A: I was officially sworn in by Chief Justice Stephens on Zoom on Jan. 1, 2026, and I can tell you that the learning curve has been steep. I am learning about the court’s internal processes and procedures at the same time that I work on substantive matters, including merits cases, petitions for review, motions, and a whole variety of other types of matters. 

An early priority was staffing up my chambers, and I’ve now hired two law clerks and a judicial administrative assistant. They are fantastic additions, and we are busy developing our processes for assignments and workflows within our small team. And outside my chambers, I’m getting to know my new colleagues in the court system—justices and judges at all levels of the state court system and the expert staff who work in the various courts and in the Administrative Office of the Courts. And many evenings, I’ve been attending events in the legal community, which have been a great way to meet people across the state and hear about the issues affecting the courts and their legal practice. All told, it’s been quite a busy start to 2026.

Q: Your background is primarily in advocacy, yet a judge must be neutral. How do you feel about transitioning into this new type of role?

A: The difference in role between advocate and judge is night-and-day, as all lawyers and judges well know. For me, the requirements of impartiality and fairness are solemn and also energizing. I feel energy because, as a judge, every case begins brand new. When I turn to a new appeal and pick up the decision below for the first time, I’m starting from a place of curiosity and openness. As an advocate, some of the legal issues I worked on tended to repeat themselves, such that I navigated the same legal issues multiple times across many cases. Now, because of the impartial role and the generalist nature of our appellate work, no case so far has been anything like any previous one. 

Q: Do you still see opportunity to continue that advocacy as a Supreme Court justice? What about the state legal system would you like to change/improve?

A: Of course Supreme Court justices should advocate! They can and must advocate for the court system itself, including looking for ways to make courts more transparent and accessible to Washingtonians from all walks of life who pass through their doors. I’m particularly interested in thinking about ways courts can use technology to improve access to justice, and in continuing to examine and reduce barriers related to language access and poverty. And I am now a member of the Washington Supreme Court’s Rules Committee, where one of our tasks is to think about court rules from an access-to-justice perspective. I’m happy that Chief Justice Stephens assigned me to the Rules Committee because it allows me to continue work I did for the five years prior to joining the court: serving on the Access to Justice Board’s Rules Committee. I like working on rules-related issues because, in my experience, procedural rules have as much to say about case outcomes as do substantive rules of decision.

Q: As you prepare for this role, what issues do you believe are most pressing for Washingtonians and the state’s legal system?

A: Apart from the need to reinforce the credibility of courts as impartial institutions, which your later questions cover, we need to continue to confront the access-to-justice challenges that have persisted in Washington despite decades of work to address them. Justice in our state courts is too often slow, expensive, and difficult to access. And there is a persistent justice gap for minority, poor, and rural communities. We need to continue to identify the barriers that exist—understanding that those barriers are often county- or region-specific and require county- or region-specific solutions. Once we’ve worked to map those, we should tackle them in partnership with local judges, lawyers, legal professionals, and community members. Washington’s courts can be national models of access to justice. To achieve that, we’ll need to be clear-eyed about the barriers we still face and then row together toward solutions.

Q: What are you most excited about?

A: I’m excited about digging into new areas of law that I’ve not previously studied in-depth. State law is vast and touches nearly all aspects of our lives. As a civil rights lawyer, I brought many different kinds of cases, but they were all civil suits and most of them alleged a violation of federal or state anti-discrimination law. Now, I get to dive deep into areas that I have not previously spent as much time with, like family law and criminal procedure. As someone who loves learning new legal doctrines and reading the lines of cases that developed them, I’m thrilled by this part of the job.  

Q: There is widespread data indicating that the public is losing trust in the judicial system. Have you witnessed such a decline in trust? If so, how do you plan to help restore that trust as a Washington Supreme Court justice?

A: I have certainly seen, heard, and read about the public decline in trust in the judicial system. Most often, I hear that concern expressed about federal courts rather than state courts. The problem, of course, is that many people don’t know the difference—federal and state court systems operate side by side in our country and hear many of the same types of cases. So, for an average person, both court systems are of a piece. As a result, some of the current public concern with the federal courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court in particular, bleeds over and impacts the credibility of state courts, too. I’m thinking here of the orders issued on the emergency docket with minimal or no explanation, the increasing politicization of confirmation hearings, and the public concern about potential conflicts of interest. 

At the Washington Supreme Court, I think we can help maintain and reinforce trust in state courts by talking to these issues directly. We should be transparent about our own practices, explain our rulings and do so in plain language whenever possible, and avoid conflicts of interest. And, of course, we can travel the state engaging community partners, civic groups, and students, explaining the role of state courts and highlighting our independent role. I’ve been doing some events like that in my first few weeks in this role, and they are rewarding (and fun) conversations.  

Q: In times when the public is losing trust in public institutions like the law, and political institutions are battling with the courts, what do you believe courts can do to reinstill confidence and ensure independence?

A: Over the summer, I watched a presentation given by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan at the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference. Justice Kagan was asked a version of this question. I agreed with the upshot of her answer, which, without purporting to quote it, was essentially that courts seeking credibility and respect today should do what credible courts have always done: adjudicate cases impartially and with integrity, provide reasoned explanations for our decisions, and make clear through our personal and professional conduct that politics does not drive case outcomes. 

That answer is not much of a silver bullet, but I agree with Justice Kagan that the best response to the current crisis of credibility in courts as institutions is to behave in ways we already know promote faith in the rule of law. This means treating similar cases similarly, so that the outcome does not appear to depend on the wealth or popularity of the party bringing any particular case. It means avoiding politicizing judicial elections and appointments. And for individual judges, it means following the law even if the outcome is not the one we personally favor. I acknowledge that all of this is little more than Courts and Judging 101, but I have yet to hear any better method of responding to the truly difficult moment we are in. Sometimes the best path forward is to emphasize the basics. 

Q: What’s one thing about you, which has nothing to do with the law, that others might be surprised to learn about you?

A: I am a dedicated Seattle Mariners fan and keep score by hand during games. It’s pretty nerdy—and my friends don’t hesitate to tell me so—but it keeps me focused on every pitch. I have a whole stack of completed scorebooks at home. And, I have gone to every Opening Day game since I was a teenager. Even when I lived in Washington, D.C., for several years while working at the U.S. Justice Department, I would fly back to Seattle every March for Opening Day. 

The playoffs last year were a great ride, and 2026 is going to be the year we go to the World Series. I’ll see everyone at the ballpark! 

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NOTE

1. “Governor Ferguson appoints Spokane native Colleen Melody to Washington Supreme Court,” Nov. 24, 2025, https://governor.wa.gov/news/2025/governor-ferguson-appoints-spokane-native-colleen-melody-washington-supreme-court.